Embodied performance training rooted in presence, ensemble, and creative risk
I offer training and workshops for artists, ensembles, regional theaters, and academic programs grounded in acting, devising, movement, and puppetry. My teaching practice centers presence, listening, and embodied inquiry—supporting performers in developing specificity, sincerity, and collaborative intelligence.
I approach training as a practice rather than a product. The work begins in the body, expands through ensemble awareness, and develops toward performance choices rooted in impulse, attention, and care.
Areas of Training
Workshops and classes may focus on:
- Acting and Presence
Cultivating sincerity, releasing unnecessary tension, and developing truthful moment-to-moment performance. - Devising and Original Work
Ensemble-based creation using Viewpoints, Tectonic Moment Work, Forsythe Improvisational Technologies, and related methodologies. - Movement for the Actor
Physical awareness and expressive range informed by Laban vocabulary and embodied listening practices. - Puppetry for Performers
Object attention, ensemble coordination, and specificity through puppet manipulation and performance. - Ensemble Practice and Shared Focus
Training actors to give and share focus, building generosity, precision, and collective presence. - Intimacy-Aware Performance Practices
Consent-based approaches to physical storytelling that support both performer safety and narrative clarity.
My Teaching Approach
My training is experiential, scaffolded, and responsive to the individuals in the room. I design sessions that move through cycles of instruction, action, reflection, and feedback, allowing performers to integrate learning through practice rather than abstraction.
I emphasize:
- Embodied awareness and self-monitoring
- Risk-taking within supportive structures
- Ensemble trust and collective responsibility
- Accessibility and adaptability across bodies and experience levels
I am especially interested in how presence and mindfulness practices support both performance excellence and personal sustainability.
Context & Experience
I bring more than fifteen years of teaching experience in higher education and professional training environments. My work is informed by:
- Ongoing professional practice as a director, devisor, performer, choreographer, and puppeteer
- Research in devised performance, mindfulness, and arts-in-health
- International performance and festival experience
- Long-term ensemble work and puppetry methodology development
- Teaching across undergraduate, graduate, and professional contexts
Formats
Training and workshops are available as:
- Single-session workshops
- Multi-day intensives
- Semester-long courses
- Artist residencies
- Guest teaching and curriculum support
Work can be tailored to the needs of academic programs, ensembles, or producing organizations.
Let’s Train Together
If you are interested in embodied, ensemble-based training that supports creative rigor, presence, and collaborative risk-taking, I would love to connect. I am available for private coaching through Wyzant Tutoring
Student Responses:
Letter to future Acting 1 Students:
"Dear future students.
Get ready to think about things you’ve literally never paid attention to before the way you breathe, how your body feels at different tempos, the tiny details you didn’t realize you were capable of noticing. This class will pull you out of autopilot in the weirdest and coolest ways, and you’ll be surprised by how much you discover about yourself just from moving, breathing, and being present.
If you want to succeed, engage. Show up, actually try the exercises, and submit everything on time. Even the assignments that seem small end up helping more than you expect. The more you invest, the easier everything gets.
And honestly? The best way to get the most out of this class is to stay open-minded. I never considered acting before I literally took this class just to fill an elective and it ended up teaching me things I didn’t even know I needed. Let yourself lean into the experience, even if it feels strange at first. You might surprise yourself. Good luck, and enjoy the journey. You’re gonna learn more than you think."